Board of Health to vote on permanent regulations for Va. abortion facilities Friday

The Virginia Board of Health will vote on replacing the "emergency" regulations for abortion facilities in Virginia with permanent regulations today. The meeting in Richmond is open to the public. The board voted in the "emergency" regulations with only one dissenting vote; it's expected to pass the permanent version today. These regulations include the right of inspectors to ask for patient lists for the past year. Of the 23 facilities in the state, 20 have applied for licensure under the new regulations.

Opposition to the regulations includes that of Dr. James “Jef” Ferguson, chair of the Department of OB/GYN at University of Virginia’s School of Medicine. He called the McDonnell administration’s draft permanent regulations of women’s health centers that provide first-trimester abortion politically motivated, saying in a media phone call, that “arbitrary and capricious decisions like this – in my opinion – have no place in the practice of medical care and disruption that’s occurring…women’s health care should not be politically motivated.” Ferguson was initially one of the medical professionals charged with advising on the regulations.

Want to go?

The quarterly meeting of the State Board of Health starts at 9 a.m., June 15, at the Perimeter Center – Boardroom 2, 9960 Mayland Drive, Richmond.

(UPDATE, June 16, 2012: In a surprise turnaround, the Board of Health voted 7-4 to allow existing facilities in Virginia that perform five or more first-trimester abortions to be "grandfathered in" regarding architectural regulations; it retained other elements of the "emergency regulations."...

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